Kingdom Hearts: The Rose Child
by Angel girl89
Summary: Rose, like Kairi, knows nothing of her past. As she and Sora search for Riku and Kairi, she begins to find pieces of her past. Will she be able to put them together in time to save all of her friends? Or will she fall into darkness?
1. Chapter 1: The Island

Angel girl89: Ya, ya I know I have another fic to write. It's just that I don't want to right now. Not to mention the fact that my computer crashed and I lost all my data. So while I waited for my computer to get fixed I got really into my Kingdom Hearts game. Before I knew it I was writing this in my spare class time (O.O don't tell my mom!). Now A'tral will do the declaimer.

A'tral: Oh ya. Who said I have to?

Angel girl89: Do it or I'll stick you in the same room as the King of Darkness.

A'tral: Who? That silver haired kid?

Angel girl89: --! NO, ANSEM. BAKA, (hits him with a baseball bat), BAKA, (hits him with a fishing pole), BAKA, (hits him with an old keyboard).

A'tral: Oooww! Don't hit so hard (Rubbing his head.) O.O (Sees me with the old keyboard). Ok, ok I'll do it. Angel girl89 does not own Kingdom Hearts or any related charters but her own.

Angel girl89: now was that very hard? on ward.

Kingdom Hearts: The Rose Child

Chapter One: The Island.

"Hey Kairi, over here," cried a young 15-year-old girl. Her peach colored skin was slightly lighter then her friend's; just right for her light sky blue hair and her deep midnight blue eyes. Of course her clothes were different as well, instead of a skirt and shirt she wore a pair of black jeans with blue flames and a blue sleeveless shirt. The wrists to elbow sleeves were black with blue flames like her pants as well. With her wooden sword strapped to her back, Rose quickly tied up her boat. She stood up and watched as the red-headed young girl slowly made her way to the dock. Kairi had been one of her best friends since she had arrived here on the islands eight years ago. As she waited, her mind wondered to when she had arrived at the islands. She had been clinging to a piece of drift wood not far out from the kid's island. After she had been rescued she woke up in warm comfy bed, alone. The room was inviting and when all was said and done she ended up being friends with Sora, Kairi and Riku. She never did find out who had rescued her.

"Hi Rose," Kairi answered. She quickly climbed onto the dock and tied up her own boat. Kairi could partially taste her friend's irritation. Like her other two friends, Sora and Riku, Rose was highly competitive. Oh how Rose hated losing, thought she could be a good sport about it unlike some others Kairi knew. It still brought tears of laughter to Kairi's eye when she thought of the fist time Sora had told Rose to go play dolls or something. By the time Rose had finished with him, Sora would have been better off getting Riku angry. For a week Sora had complained about being as sore as if he had swam the length between the two island's 50 times.

"The boys beat us here," Rose stated bitterly. Kairi mentally sighed at her friend's competitiveness. _She's just as bad as Riku and Sora,_ she thought. Rose knew very well what was going on in her friends mind. She didn't care if Kairi thought of her as feisty girl, because that was who she was whether she was approved of was their opinion. Luckily Kairi, Riku, and Sora had taken a liking to her. Of course it also helped that Kairi had come barely a year before her. That was she had someone to talk to about it.

"Well Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka aren't too far behind," Kairi replied. Rose sighed and nodded. Kairi was just trying to cheer her up, not that she minded. It just meant that Kairi cared is all.

"So you ready to start on the raft?" Rose asked as she looked around, "Hey look there's Sora…"

"Sleeping…" Kairi noted.

"On the beach…"

"As usual," they finished together. Rose watched as Kairi walked over to Sora. Like always the fourteen year old boy had fallen asleep like the laid back kid he was. When he woke up Rose was surprised to see the dazed look on his face. He sat up, looked around and lay back down only to jump up at the sight of Kairi. Rose smiled and even laughed when Kairi hit Sora on the top of the head, disregarding the worry from before. She looked over the beach and spotted Riku. Quickly, she looked away, her smile fading. When ever she saw those three together she felt a little lonely. They had always fit together perfectly and she thought she was just another body in the way. Then again every time she felt like that they'd do something to make her feel like she fit in around here.

"Rose you ok?" Sora asked as Riku sat down next to him. She looked over to him, her smile back in place. Sora frowned at this, knowing that when she had been looking away Rose hadn't been smiling.

"Ya, I'm fine," she answered, walking over to them. She heard Kairi challenge the boys to a race. They muttered something, looked at each other and shot up. All four of them took off. Rose winked at Kairi, causing her to laugh harder, and push herself to go faster. As she passed Sora he glared at her but she just shrugged it off and kept going. When they neared the finish line she closed the gap between Riku and her, holding it until they crossed the finish line. They tied.

"How did you get so fast?" Riku asked when he caught his breath. He had raced with her many times and she had never been this fast. If he wasn't careful she'd get faster then he was.

"Practice," she answer as the other two came up. Rose was thrilled that the practice races with Tidus and Wakka had paid off. She had spent countless hours running that same track with those two as Riku and Sora raced two the star tree.

"Oh man, I can't believe I got beat by a girl," Sora said, bent over double. Everyone froze, as Kairi and Riku looked at Rose. She just turned and started to walk away. Quickly she took several deep breaths as she walked down the ramp; acting as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey Kairi, we need something for a sail right?" she asked before anyone could say anything. Kairi looked at her surprised that her friend wasn't going to kill Sora for what he said. Not that she or Riku would blame her, after Sora had been know to say the wrong thing from time to time.

"Yes," Kairi answered, worried about her friend.

"Ok, I'll be right back," Rose said as she walked away, deaf to Kairi's and Riku's verbal beatings at Sora. It had been awhile scene anyone had said that. It had taken a long time to get the boys to except her for more then just a girl. Shaking those unpleasant thought from her head she made her way to the tree house, vaguely remembering that she saw a cloth there. As she reached for the cloth she heard something.

_The purest heart…_

"Wha…" she whirled around, her hand flying to the wooden sword on her back. After a quick look around her hands fell to her side. They were shaking as she took a few deep breaths. Her heart was thumping in her throat with the realization that for a moment she had acted like some one totally different. But who she didn't know and in truth she didn't want to. When she had calmed, Rose grabbed the cloth and headed for where Kairi was.

"Here Kairi, I got us a sail," Rose said as she came up to her. She handed Kairi the cloth.

"Thanks, I got something for you too," Kairi said handing Rose a potion, "Um Rose are you ok?"

"Ya, I'm fine," Rose answered. She left heading for some place to think, and the best place for that was the Paopu Island. After the short trudge up the slightly curving stair case she push open the door, leading to the plank bridge to the Paopu Island. As she reached the island she saw Riku sitting on the angled Paopu tree. Quickly she tried to leave as quiet as possible, only to fail.

"You know Rose, I don't own the island," he called without looking back. Rose stopped and looked at him. The sun was still some time from setting, thus the sky was brilliant gold's and light blues. Biting her lip she walked over to him. Without thinking about it she climbed on the smaller tree, facing away from the horizon and dropped. Her legs caught her fall so she just swung feeling free from everything. There was an awkward moment of silent between the two of them before Riku spoke again.

"Rose, what do you think of the trip?" he asked. It had been bugging him ever since they had decided to go. For the past couple of days she had been thinking often, even at her home or at least that's what Kairi had said. _She always keeps a lot to herself and for some reason that worries me,_ he thought. When they had first met he had thought her to be shy, however over the first few weeks she went from shy to fierce to kind, among others. Yet she barley said how she really felt about something, even now.

"To tell you the truth I… I'm kinda afraid. I mean we don't what's out there and there's a possibility that…" Here she paused unsure of how to say this. It felt like that fear had settled in her chest and was now a lead weight.

"That?" he pressed. He had always liked it when they talked. For some reason the two of them could talk for hours without feeling odd about it. When they talked it was usually about any thing that was bugging them at that point. And after all the talks they had he could tell that this was really bothering her

"That we won't be able to come back. But then there are so many things that we could see, so many different people to meet. And maybe I can find out where I belong. Then maybe I won't feel so lonely," she finished in a whisper. Never before had she told anyone that she had felt lonely, like an extra piece to the puzzle. That last part caught Riku's full attention.

"Lonely? What do you mean?" he asked. He had never guessed that she had felt that way. To him she had always appeared to be happy. _That not true,_ stated a small voice in the back of his mind, _you knew she might have felt lonely._ Somehow he had known the possibility of such a though but never had any way to prove it.

"I always felt like there was something missing, like I was forgetting something. So if I can find out what it is than maybe I won't feel so lonely. And maybe I'll find the answers to all my other questions," she finished. Carefully she pulled herself up and sighed. She had done a lot more thinking out loud rather then to herself. Of course she didn't mind talking to Riku. It was always easy to speak to him. As she sat there she sensed Riku climb down next to her.

"You know," he stared, "you don't have to feel lonely. I mean you have Kairi and Sora and me of course." He looked at her wondering if anything he was saying was getting through. It was for this reason that he was worried. For sometimes she would listen but still think the same thing. She sighed, looking away from the island to Riku. _That look, _she thought as she looked him straight in the eye, _why does it hurt so much, it's like he's lost. _His eyes were filled with worry. It was as if it hurt him for her to be so lonely here. When she tried her best to smile some of that worry seemed to dissolve.

"I know," Rose whispered. As she moved to get down Riku's hand moved to grip her wrist. She looked at him, surprised. He had never before had the guts to do this for fear that she had feelings for someone else. But he couldn't take it any more, he had to tell her. He had to tell her that he loved to listen to her sing even if Sora and the others said it was a waste of time. And the reason why he stayed out so late was to hear her play that wooden flute of hers. He desperately wanted her to know that he would help her find her memories of who she was and why she was sent away. To top it all off he wanted her to know that he would always protected her. As he began to speak, however, the two of them heard footsteps on the bridge. Quickly he pulled away and slid off the tree.

It was Sora and Kairi. The two of them looked at each other when they had seen Riku move so quickly; both where wondering why he was acting like that. Sora just shrugged at Kairi to show that he had no idea why. Even if he and Riku were best buds, there were a few things that Sora couldn't figure out about his friend. Kairi knew this to be true so she just rolled her eyes and headed for the tree. Quickly she climbed up to her favorite spot, watching Rose as she turned to look out at the ocean. Even with a blank look on her face, Kairi could tell that Rose was shocked. Apparently Riku had done something unexpected. _And about time too, _Kairi thought, thinking of all the times she had caught the two of them watching the other out the corner of their eyes.

"Hey, um, Rose. About what I said earlier… um," Sora said. He was standing beneath Kairi staring up at Rose. Once more he didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. It wasn't unusual for him to be tongue-tied when he wanted to apologize.

"Sora, it's ok," Rose said, smiling at him. He gave her one of his biggest goofiest grins then climbed up next to Kairi. Both girls rolled their eyes at Sora's usual antics. As Riku and Sora started talking the girls just watched the sun not really paying much attention to either of the boys. After a few minutes Kairi got dragged into the conversation and Rose just continued to think to herself.

"Hey Rose what about you? What would you do if we found another world?" Sora asked.

"I… I don't know. I suppose that I'd probably try to find out what I could about that world. And maybe I might find some who knows me. I mean there's got to be some one out there right?" Rose replied.

"How should I know?" Sora asked her.

"Come Rose, on we better get home before we get yelled at again," Kairi said. She and Rose both climbed down from their places on the Paopu tree and started across the bridge. Rose sighed knowing that either tomorrow or the day after they would be leaving probably never to return.

Angel girl89: Whoa six pages. Even I didn't know that it would be that long.

A'tral: Did you have to take so long. The beginning is bad enough as it is.

Angel girl89: Oh hush! --!

A'tral: And what if I don't.

Angel girl89: I'll die your hair black. _No affiance to those who have black hair he just doesn't like that color. _

A'tral: NOOOO! (Runs and hides).


	2. Knigdom Hearts: The Departure

Angel girl89: Sorry it took so long.

A'tral: So what do you have for the baka's.

Angel girl89: Don't insult the readers! . (hits him with the old keyboard.) Well here is the next chappy.

A'tral: Out cold. .

Kingdom Hearts: The Rose Child.

Chapter Two: The Departure.

Rose sighed as she stretched out on the sand. She had woken up earlier then she normally did; arriving on the island just at sunrise. Not the she minded, for she had always loved to watch the gold's, reds and pale pinks shot acrossed an ever lighting blue sky. The few remaining stars would slowly fade as the sun broke over the horizon, looking for all the word as if it had risen from the depths of the ocean rather then her home having turned slowly as it circled the sun. Once she had been told that if you watch the perfect sunrise with some one you love then the bond you have with them would grow and you would always know where they were. She couldn't remember where she had heard it from, or who for that matter, but it reminded her of an awful lot about the Paopu fruit; of course she could have just been looking into things to much like she always did. Softly the sand shifted to fit her body a little better as she tried to think of something to do. At least until Kairi, Sora, Riku and the others showed up. Coming up with nothing she had decided to simply be content with watching the ocean as it would probably be awhile before she would see this one again.

When ever she found herself alone or feeling lonely she would look out at the ocean and suddenly feel at ease with everything, except lately nothing seemed to help in calming her nervousness. Well ok maybe not nothing, that talk with Riku yesterday had calmed her at least a little. It was true that they had been planning this for sometime, ever since Kairi had came to the island, thus you would think that by now most of her fear would be taken care of. Yet they were still there like a constantly nagging voice in the back of her mind. That nagging voice had worked her up into such a case of nerves that she hadn't been able to sleep last night. Instead she had either paced the length of her room or sat on her window sill, fingering her wooden pipe. She had remained that way until the blissful blanket of sleep had fallen on to her a few hours before dawn. Her dreams, however, had been anything but peaceful. It was as if her fears had followed her and there was no safe haven for her to go.

On the other side of the island Riku, Kairi and Sora were all tying up their own boats. They had each seen Roses boat yet decided to keep their thoughts to themselves. Kairi was in fact ragging a silent war with herself on whether of not to tell the boys that Rose had been up almost all night last night. She had listened to Rose pace back and forth in the room next to her own. It wasn't till about three hours before sunrise that she finally stopped pacing. When Kairi had gotten up Rose had already been gone, leaving Kairi to wonder if there was anything that Rose wasn't telling her. She sighed as she finally finished with tying up her boat and glanced at the boys only to find them gone. That's just like them to forget everything but their challenge, she thought. Perhaps if she talked to Riku shed be able to get him to talk to Rose and at least find out what was wrong. It made Kairi worry when Rose wouldn't talk to her. Quickly, she followed the boy's foot prints, wondering what they were doing and if Rose wanted to be found. Well if she didn't, it wouldn't have been the first time. Shoving these thoughts aside, she found Sora and Riku arguing about something.

"Are you two at it again?" she asked. Both boys looked up at her as she approached. They nodded and Kairi spotted one of the most distressed looks on Sora's face. She blinked, wondering just what Riku had said to him that would have put such a look on his face. True, when ever they argued that let their competitive side get the better of them but they had never been this bad before. Kairi decided to chalk it all up to growing boys and leave it at that. "Alright on my mark."

Riku and Sora lined up like that usually did as they waited for Kairi to star the count. Riku glanced over at Sora and had to bit back a laugh. He couldn't believe that Sora had actually thought that he would do something like that. Besides Kairi probably didn't want to share a Paopu fruit with him anyway. Yet that still didn't stop him from teasing Sora about it. He had seen how his best friend had been looking at Kairi lately and he was hoping Sora wouldn't get crusted. Having seen what had happened to Tidus when he had asked Selphie out, Riku really didn't want to see something like that happen to Sora. Trustfully, in his opinion, things like that shouldn't ever start between friends like them. It only caused problems and nothing was the same afterwards.

Sora glared as he listened to Kairi start the count down. He couldn't believe that Riku would say that. It was almost as if Riku wanted him to win. Well if he thought that Sora was going to mess up because of what he had said, he's got another thing coming. When Kairi shouted go, both boys jumped off the starting line. They quickly raced acrossed the broken bridge, both taking care not to fall off the break away piece. Sora growled as Riku pulled ahead of him just before the tower. He quickly followed Riku around the tower, knowing that if he went up it now his best friend would gain even more ground. As they both focused on the race and each other they forgot to watch where they were running. Or more importantly who they might be running on. When both boys had reached the raft neither had seen Rose as she lay by it. Luckily she heard their pounding footsteps and rolled out of the way. A few moments later they passed her, kicking up small plumes of sand as they ran. Rose shielded her eyes then, when the sand settled again, glared at both teens as continued with their race.

Sighing, she crawled to her feet and started towards the seashore area intent on putting some distance between her and the two thunder feet. It was too early to be angry at either of them and she had more important things to do. Like figure out what had her so no edge and why that voice from yesterday was getting her so worked up. And maybe find some way to put my mind at ease, she thought.

Grabbing a hold of the low ledge by the zip-line tower, she pulled herself up, then quickly moved out of the way. A few moments later, the boys passed her. The word show-off came to mind when Riku pulled a back flip to get over the ledge. Sora soon followed only a few seconds behind him when an idea hit her like a bolt from the blue. The best way to get back at Riku was to bruise his pride, and the best way to do that was to let Sora win at whatever they were doing.

"Hey, Riku! Is that a challenge?" Rose called out, just as the silver haired teen came to the fall out point on the bridge. He looked back to see her leaning against the ladder to the tower, losing his concentration in the process. Having forgotten to jump, he soon found himself in the shallows beneath the bridge, with Sora jumping overhead. Crap, he thought as he jumped to his feet. Even if he managed to gain some ground, Sora would most definitely cross the finish line before he could get back up that ledge. damn, why would Rose do that? he questioned himself, as he watched Sora cross the finish line. Quickly he pulled himself up and crossed the finish line at a walk. He started to shake the water that had been splashed on him, from his hair as Rose made her way across the bridge. He turned toward her when she stopped a few feet away from him and glared, hard. He would have understood if she had done that, because she was getting back at him for something that he had done, but he hadn't done anything lately. His glare was one of the things that no one wanted to face, yet Rose just smiled, even as his glare darkened when Sora burst out laughing. Giving up, he turned and walked over to the ledge that was closest to the ocean. Without a word, he sat down, letting his leg dangle over the side as he picked up a blade of sea grass and started to shred it.

Kairi watched Roses smile drop when Riku turned away from them. It made her wonder just what was going on with those two. Just yesterday Riku had been ready to tell the blue-hair fighter what Kairi had suspected for a while, and now the two seemed to be at each others throats. She sighed, deciding that just this once, she wasn't going to play peacekeeper and see just how Rose was going to handle this. When Sora finally managed to stop laughing his head off, Kairi walked over to him and asked if he could get two coconuts and three mushrooms. He agreed and left, going back towards the Star Tree.

"Hey, Rose, can you get the rest of the provisions?" Kairi asked. Rose was jolted from her thoughts. She turned to Kairi, a small smile back in place. After she nodded, Kairi told her that they still needed three fish, a seagull egg, and some fresh water. Taking the canteen, Rose glanced one last time at Riku, and then walked through the door that lead to the seashore. It would probably be best if she let him cool off before she tried to tell him why she had done that. Otherwise he would have just continued to glare tat her while she tried to explain. She hadn't really thought that it would have hurt him that much when she distracted him; which meant that the prize that the two had been racing for must have been big. This made wonder just what the prize had been. Maybe she could talk Sora into a rematch--that way Riku would stop glaring at her. Of course, the best way to cheer him up would be to let him help her get back at Sora. That is, if Riku still wants to even look at me, she thought.

"Hey, man. Whats with da long face?" Rose blinked as she looked over at Wakka, who was by the waterfall. The young boy had been hitting his blitz ball against the rock face of the waterfall, before he had spotted her. Despite the fact that Kairi, Riku, and Sora had basically taken Rose into their group, Wakka had still felt that she was his little sister, kind of like Selphie and Tidus. He had lost count of how many times she had joined Tidus, Selphie, and himself after either Sora or Riku, or sometimes both, had said something that had upset her. Of course, Rose had never really cried when she was upset. No, she would just get all quiet and try to be alone, which all six of them knew was never good. And right now she had the same slightly lost look that Wakka had seen many times before. He watched as she quickly covered it up, a small smile brightening her face. Yet like always, her eyes betrayed how she really felt.

"Nothing, just thinking," Rose replied. She really didn't want to have to explain what, so she just continued for the shore. Wakka watched her go, wondering if he should follow her, seeing as he wasn't really doing anything. He shrugged and started after her. Rose, on the other hand, was too deep in thought to even notice that Wakka had come with her. Her thoughts had returned to her dream. She had felt fear before, but what she had been trapped by in her dream was akin to terror. The only faces that she could have seen were Sora's and the other boy's. It was hared to see much about the boys face, but what stuck in her mind were his piercing emerald eyes. That would always stay in her mind; as would the pure pain in them, as he was being stabbed in the heart. All she could do was watch numbly as his body fell and his attacker went after Sora. It was always then that she would wake up, here heart pounding a mile a minute and feeling like it wanted to burst from her chest. Just thinking about it had her shaken up. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Now, what was I supposed to get? Oh yeah, she thought; then proceeded to remove her shoes and socks. After she removed her wooden sword from its place on her back and stuck it in the sand, she realized that Wakka had followed her.

"Hey, Wakka, can you help me? I gotta catch some fish for Kairi," Rose asked. He nodded and also removed his shoes. As he watched her wade out, he couldn't help but wonder if this sudden cheeriness was real or not. He shrugged it off and waded out after her, trying not to splash too much. It didn't take very long to catch all three fish, and the two were soon engaged in a splashing war. Rose gained the upper hand and began to splash him mercilessly until he managed one good splash. She dodged, resulting in him getting Selphie on the docks. Selphie glared at both of them then started after them. Everyone knew that Selphie didn't like to be interrupted when she was daydreaming. So both Wakka and Rose glanced at each other, called a silent truce, and bolted. Wakka looked back at Selphie and had to duck when he saw her jump rope coming straight at his head. Beside him, Rose just started soughing her head off as she jumped to avoid Selphie's rope herself. Selphie continued after Rose when Wakka dove behind some barrels.

"Aww, come on, Sel. It was just a little water," Rose laughed as she cart wheeled out of the way. It soon turned into a game for both of them. The goal of this game was to see who could outlast the other. Both girls were soon dodging and attacking, using every trick in the book to gain the upper hand. Wakka was taking care not to get in the way, as both girls began going at each other relentlessly. He watched Rose back flip out of the way of Selphie's jump rope, then turn and rush back at her. Selphie swung her jump rope around again, but this time, Rose got up under it and tried to kick Selphie's legs out from under her. The daydreamer jumped back, however, and snapped the rope down on Rose. Knowing she couldn't move out of the way in time, Rose Brought her arm up and winced when the rope wrapped around her arm. That was definitely going to leave a welt tomorrow. Suddenly, Rose grabbed the rope and jerked, hoping to topple Selphie and finally gain the upper hand. What had been a playful battle was now a strange form of tug-of-war, with both girls trying to overpower each other. They both stayed that way for a few minutes, neither willing to let go. Finally, Rose pulled what she called a finger trap by pulling on the rope with her left hand, letting what was wrapped around her right arm loosen. She then let go, slipping her right arm out as Selphie fell back; her jump rope hitting her on top of her head.

"Ow, hey, that's not fair," Selphie yelped. Rose just started laughing at Selphie's remark, and soon enough Wakka joined in with her. After climbing to her feet, Selphie crossed her arms and glared at them, trying not to laugh along with them. Eventually, she gave up, and all three of them were laughing their heads off. Riku, who had blown off a lot of steam by now and was curious than angry, rounded the corner and spotted the three laughing hyenas. Rose was hanging on to Wakka's shoulder while half bent over from laughing, as he gripped the barrel beside him, shaking his head in an attempt to regain himself. Selphie had collapsed beside them, howling with laughter, so hard that she could barely breathe. Riku paused, wondering if he should interrupt them or hang back and see if he could find out why Rose had done what she had.

"Hey, man, what was with da long face earlier?" Wakka finally managed when he calmed down. Rose, who was still hanging on Wakka's shoulder, quickly sobered up, and the laughter disappeared from her eyes. She sighed, knowing that if Wakka was willing to ask twice, then he was willing to ask a third and fourth time--at least until he got an answer that was soon what satisfying. Both Selphie and Wakka caught her sudden change in mood and glanced at each other, wondering just what the two most competitive boys on the island did this time. 

"Sora and Riku had been racing on the other shore and almost ran me over. So, naturally, I decided to get some revenge; starting with Riku, cause the opportunity was too good to pass up. To make a long story short, I distracted Riku, so Sora would win, but that plan backfired. So, now I have a very pissed off Riku after my head." Rose explained; which, in turn, made her wonder once again what the prize had been. She used to think that it didn't bother her how much those two competed for Kairi, but now she wasn't so sure. It had been some time ago when she accepted that she wasn't like the other girls on the island. She hated the color pink and only wore a dress or a skirt if she had to. Unlike Kairi and Selphie, Rose loved to pick up slugs and poke jelly fish when they washed up on shore. Every day, she was always in a fight or a race with someone, and the only make-up she wore was the dirt that she had picked up over the course of the day. It didn't matter if it was raining or sunny, shed still come out to the island. So, it wasn't really a surprise that no one was competing for her attention, and it had never really bothered her before. Yet now it felt like there was a sliver in her heart and it just kept getting irritated. She just wished things would go back to the way they had been before the four of them started on the raft.

"So what cha gonna do?" Wakka asked after a moment of silence. Rose shrugged to show that she didn't know before walking back over to the shore line. They watched her shove her pockets as she let the waves roll over her feet. The look on her face as she stared out at the horizon stated clearly that she was no longer paying any attention to what was around her. Once more she had dived into the deep recesses of her mind, hoping that maybe this time shed find an answer to something, anything, to her past. Despite that it was against his better judgment, Wakka decided to leave her be. Selphie also came to the same conclusion and wondered off to go do something. Both of them knew better then to try and get her attention as nothing short of a rap on the head would bring her out of her trance. For now they'd wait and watch to see if Roses expression softened and there was a brake in her thoughts. At which time they'd pounce, ready to take her away from all that thinking.

Cautiously, Riku stepped away from his temporary hiding spot; shocked by what he had heard. He knew that he often got so focused on something that he lost track of everything else but he had never been so bad as to almost run some one over. Guilt ate away at his mind as he watched her just stand there. Like always when ever something budded her, she just shoved it to the back of her mind. Then, mostly to distract herself, Rose would try to force her memories to surface despite the fact that she had been told not to. Riku himself had practically begged her not to. And he knew that was what she was doing, all because he had been an idiot earlier. With that thought, he felt like punching himself. Some how, despite how much he thought it through, he always said or did something that only raised her doubts and fears even higher; which was the last thing he wanted. Damn, why was it easier to talk to Kairi or Selphie yet when ever he talked to Rose it felt like every word that he said was being weighted and measured? He didn't find it hard to talk to her, just that his words where being taken to heart. And how was he suppose to apologies when she shut every thing out like that? Riku suddenly blinked as he remembered that Kairi had said something about a seagull egg and thought that maybe a peace offering would help. "Well it's worth a shot," he muttered to himself as her enter the shack. Little did he know, a shadow was starching out for the subject of his thoughts.

The shadow started in the secret cave that Sora and Riku had claimed as theirs. No one saw it as the shadow slowly reached out for her. When it cane to her it reached its fingers for her heart. It wrapped itself around her heart, feeding on her doubts and fears. If Rose hadn't suddenly stiffened and her eyes widened if fear no one would have known that something was horribly wrong. Yet she did and Selphie took notes. The daydreamer jumped up and ran over to Rose, unable to shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. As she approached she saw that Rose's body was tense and shaking badly. Fear rolled off her like water on a hill. At first Selphie was hesitant on touching her yet the reason was unknown to her. After a moment Selphie knew why as Rose began to speak, her voice was cold and distant.

"This world has been connected, tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed… You do not yet know what lies beyond the door. There is so very much to learn. You understand so little… A meaningless effort. One, who knows nothing, can understand nothing." Those words seemed to echo in her mind before they came spilling out of her mouth, despite her efforts to stop them. Much like the words that came on their own accord, her body wouldn't move. It felt as if someone had bound her and placed a blindfold over her eyes so she couldn't see. Darkness closed in around her, pressing in on her. Ti was as if she was the last light and the Darkness was trying to extinguish it. She suddenly became aware of a falling sensation and wanted desperately to fight it. The Darkness terrified her for some unknown reason, yet she could not brake lose from it. It was like a thick black chain that wouldn't release her. Slowly it creped around her, tightening around her body and crushing her; then there was nothing.

"_I need you to hold on to me, Hope, and don't let go. And what ever you do, don't look away from me," someone whispered. A small six year old girl wrapped her arms around the neck of the young man who had picked her up. She promptly buried her face in his neck as he held her. As soon as he was sure that he had a good grip on her, he bolted. Quickly, he covered as much ground as possible with each stride as he rushed past the burning buildings of their town. Around them creatures of shadows and fear were attacking other people and even tried to attack them. He dodged them the best that he could without startling or scaring the girl in his arms. Her arms tightened around his neck when she felt something trip him and he rolled instinctively to keep from landing on her. Hope nearly fell out if his arms when they landed; catching a glimpse of the wound that one of the shadow creatures had given him. He let out a grown before climbing back up to his feet. His breath came in painful gasps as he searched for his best friend. If he didn't get Hope out of there soon those creatures would get her. Finally he spotted the one he was looking for and rushed towards him. The young man before them had shoulder length dark brown hair and was warring a pair of black jeans, a black jean jacket and t-shirt. He had a pair of dark brown leather belts that criss-crossed at his waist. In his hand, he was griping the hilt of what appeared to be an over sized gun with a blade coming out of the barrel.  
_

"_Squall!" Squall looked up and saw Hope in her brother's arms. He could see that his best friend was trying to escape from those things and that more of them were behind the two. Without saying a word, he signaled for them to follow him then rushed off. All three of them weaved threw the streets swiftly, dodging around the shadows more often then they fought them. Both boys' didn't know why but for some reason they felt that they couldn't stop for any reason. For now they'd just let their feet carry them until they saw something that would get them out of there. Up ahead, they spotted an airship and put on a burst of speed. Someone in the airship yelled at them and they glanced behind them. Bad move. It appeared that those shadows had friends and they could fly._

"_Squall. Take her, I'll make sure you two get on board," the boy called. He handed Hope to Squall before he could protest then turned to face the shadows. Squall stood for a moment then bolted for the airship. He quickly made it to the ramp and only after he heard Hope give a muffled cry did he look back. As he watched, his best friend was easily defeated and fell to the ground in a bloody heap. While he stared, dumbstruck at the fact that his friend had been defeated so quickly, something attacked them from behind sending them to the ground. Hope rolled away from him, stunned from the sudden impact. The shadows quickly jumped on her before they stared to claw at her. Squall struggled to push himself up to at least a sitting position so he could find Hope. He could fell the blood drip down his back from the gash on his back yet he paid it little mind as he franticly searched for Hope. She was trying desperately to fight her way out of the grip of five shadows a few feet away from him when he spotted her. Panicking, he jumped to his feet and started to bolt for her when two pairs of arms grabbed him and began to pull him on the ship. Instantly he retaliated against them while he watched in horror as a black vortex appeared beneath her.  
_

"_Squall, its to dangerous." The comment did nothing to deter him from trying to reach her as he was all but carried onto the ship. As the hatch closed all of them heard Hope scream in pain and fear. Squall's body went limp as he fell to his knees, slowly going into shock. No one said a word as they knew what had happened. It was the same fate that had befallen every other citizen on that world save for the five on that small airship. Neither of the two men who had dragged Squall into the ship said anything when they saw a few tears run down Squall's face. They all knew about the promise he had made with his best friend. And they all knew what it was like to lose someone.  
_

"_Hope."_

Rose bolted up, gasping for breath as she tried to calm her pounding heart. Had that been just a dream or was it possibly a memory? But if it was a memory then why was Hope and Squall the only one's that she could see? And what were those creatures? But mostly why did Hope look almost exactly like her? Shoving those thoughts aside, she ran a hand through her hair. After a few deep breathes Rose glanced around and found that she had some how wound up in her room. She stood up after she tossed aside the covers. Despite how spacious her room seemed it was easy to tell that it was small. Besides the twin bed that was set into the floor and the hard wood dresser by the one window there was a solid hard wood desk with a rose thyme carved into its surface. Around the room there wasn't much, just a few things that she had either colleted or had been given. She glanced out the window, mainly because she liked to watch what went on outside her room, and nearly stopped breathing.

There over the kid's island, was a strange black orb that had lighting striking from it. The first thing that came to her mind when she saw this was the raft. Without even thinking about it, she picked up the backpack that she had packed yesterday in anticipation for their trip. In side were a few changes of clothes, some extra mummy, a first aid kit, and her prized flute. Glancing around the room one last time, she tried to memorize every little detail and store it for latter. She didn't know why but she had a feeling that she wasn't going to be back here for a long time. After locking the possibly last look of her room in her memory, Rose walked over to the window and climbed out. Carefully, she shimmied down the drain pipe, trying to remain as quiet as possible. As soon as she was on the ground she ran for the docks, hoping that Kairi, Sora or Riku had towed her boat back to the main land. She raced threw the streets, glancing as often as she could at the island threw the gaps around the houses. As she ran she watched black clouds started to surround the island. When she reached the dock, she tossed her backpack into her boat and climbed in.

Rose made it to the island in almost no time flat. She didn't even bother to tie up her boat; just threw her backpack on and jumped on to the dock. Looking acrossed the beach, she spotted those same shadow creatures from her dream crawling all over the island. Her eyes seemed to be drawn to the Paopu island were she saw the familiar form of a certain silver haired boy. As far as she could tell he was just standing there, staring. Shacking aside those thoughts, she ran for the shack: dodging and jumping over those creatures as best as she could. She practically flung herself at the door to avoid one of them from digging their very sharp looking claws in her back. With a sharp turn she slammed the door behind her them let out a yelp of surprise when its claws pierced the wood. If they could do that that to wood she really didn't want to think about what they might do to her. Quickly, while it was dazed, she turned and bound up the stairs. The stairs wound up to another door that lead to a small cliff directly acrossed from the Paopu island. Again slamming open the door, Rose spotted Sora halfway acrossed the plank bridge and hurried to catch up to him. Both of them skidded to a stop just before they ram into Riku.

"Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you," Sara said. Rose tried to regain her breath as she bleatingly remembered that their boats had also been at dock. The two watched as Riku just stood there staring out into the darkness. Rose had to fight back a sudden wave of fear as she waited for him to answer. Something wasn't right, she knew it. Those creatures, which had so readily attacked the two of them before, had shied away when they approached Riku. She had never been afraid of the dark but this was something completely different.

"The door…has opened," Riku whispered. Rose took a step back when he spoke. She had known Riku for about eight years and he had never sounded like that. His voice was usually filled with a hidden laugh, but now it seemed to be hollow. Beside her Sora was looking at him in complete confusion.

"What?" Sora asked. The confusion in his voice matched the confusion in her heart. All around them the Darkness continued to grow. It reminded her of the feeling from earlier, which terrified her.

"The Door has opened Sora, Rose. Now we can go to the outside world," Riku said.

"What are you talking about, we get to find Kairi," Sora said, panic evident in his voice.

"Kairi's coming with us," Riku snapped. "once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the Darkness!" The seriousness in his voice caught both of them off guard as he held both his hands out to them. When he had first turned to them, Rose had seen that his eye's had darkened. It was almost as if something was taking his light away. Taking away the very thing that made him who he was. That thought sent her head reeling in fear of what that would do to him. While he had spoken she felt as if he was slowly being pulled away from her by something dark and sinister. It had sent her heart pounding and without even giving it a thought she stepped toward him. Sora quickly followed when three black vortexes appeared beneath them. After struggling for a moment, Rose managed to brake lose and grab Riku's hand. He pulled her close, gently wrapping an arm around her waist as Sora tried to reach them. She glanced down at the ground causing her breath to freeze in her throat. The same fear from before washed over her as what appeared to be vines of Darkness slowly wrapped around all three of them. Those shadow creatures a rose from the vortex and grabbed a hold of their feet, slowly pulling them in. Rose was too terrified to even try to struggle against them or reach out for Sora.

"No matter what happens, I'll always protect you," Riku whispered. Her response was to burry her face in his chest as her body remained tense and trembling. She closed her eyes against the Darkness as he tightened his grip on her to reassure her. Rose was quick to grasp the silent strength that he was offering to her as she tried to fight away the feeling of hopelessness and of being trapped. _I know your not afraid of the Darkness Riku, but I am,_ she thought just before she lost track of everything.


End file.
